Greece gets interest for new offshore oil and gas tenders: licensing body - REUTERS

JANUARY 17, 2018 / 1:28 PM / A DAY AGO

ATHENS, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Tenders for offshore oil and gas exploration and exploitation west and south of Greece have attracted “strong interest” from companies exploring in the Mediterranean, the head of Greece’s oil and gas resources management company said on Wednesday.

Ionian Sea Block 10 goes to Hellenic Petroleum - KATHIMERINI

06.12.2016 : 22:00

ATHEX blue chip company Hellenic Petroleum is the bidder selected for the concession of Block 10 in the Gulf of Kyparissia, west of the Peloponnese, for surveying for and utilization of hydrocarbons in the area, according to a statement by the Environment and Energy Ministry on Tuesday.

In the next few days the tender’s valuation committee will invite the company to agree on the definitive text of the draft concession contract, the ministry added.

The consortium of Total-Edison-Hellenic Petroleum was recently chosen as the preferred bidder for Block 2 in the Ionian Sea, west of Corfu. The ministry announced that the contract for this will be signed soon.

Greece says will evaluate deep-sea oil and gas exploration bids within weeks - REUTERS

Fri May 13, 2016 2:02pm EDT

Greece will conclude the evaluation of deep-sea oil and gas exploration bids in the coming weeks and will name the preferred bidders soon after, its energy minister said on Friday, as the country seeks to tap into its limited oil reserves.

Plunging crude oil prices have cut spending on oil projects around the world but cash-strapped Greece is pushing ahead with investment in the industry in a bid to reduce dependence on oil imports and boost public finances.

"We are evaluating three bids made by oil companies whose financial strength, experience and infrastructure ensure they are in a position to successfully perform gas and oil exploration and production," Energy Minister Panos Skourletis said.

Hellenic Petroleum, Energean get Greek onshore gas blocks - SIGMA LIVE / REUTERS

05.02.2016

Greece has awarded concessions to Hellenic Petroleum and Energean Oil & Gas for onshore gas exploration and exploitation in three fields in the west of the country, Energy Ministry Panos Skourletis said on Thursday.

Hellenic Petroleum, Greece's biggest oil refiner, won two of the concessions and the country's sole oil producer Energean Oil & Gas one, the ministry said in a statement.

In a separate statement, Hellenic Petroleum said that it was willing to team up with other oil companies in the gas drilling business.

"We start independently but we are open to cooperations and proposals that will be based on and respect the business rules of the world industry," its CEO Grigoris Stergioulis said.

Greece Initiates Offshore Oil and Gas Tender Process | JDSUPRA

Greece Initiates Offshore Oil and Gas Tender Process

10/7/2014

by

Joanne Mantis  

| King, Krebs & Jurgens, PLLC Contact

Explore:  Energy Energy Policy EU Oil & Gas

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Greece has initiated its tender process for offshore oil and gas (hydrocarbons) exploration as of August 26, 2014. The Greek Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change is seeking bid applications for its offshore oil and gas exploration in 20 block areas in the Ionian Sea and south of Crete. The Greek government is hoping this will aid the Greek economy by encouraging an influx of investment capital.

Greece is utilizing a licensed-based system where applicants will have to acquire certain licenses in order to qualify as operators. Successful bidders will be awarded exploration and development rights for a primary term of eight years which will be subject to extensions. The Greek government has made several concessions with the objective of making the process more attractive to investors and international oil and gas companies. Paramount among these is a substantial decrease in its corporate tax rate from 40% to 25%. The 25% consists of a 20% income tax and a 5% regional tax.

The submission deadline ends six months after the date of initial publication (August 26, 2014), which will be February 27, 2015. The Ministerial Decree calling for tenders is available online.

Link to source: http://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/greece-initiates-offshore-oil-and-gas-te-62606/

Greece Expects To Sign Major Oil Test Drilling Contracts By October 2015 | Reuters

Greece Expects To Sign Major Oil Test Drilling Contracts By October 2015
by Reuters |Wednesday, October 01, 2014


ATHENS, Oct. 1 (Reuters) - Greece expects to sign contracts for the first large-scale oil test drilling in its western and southern waters by October 2015, ministry officials said, as the debt-laden country attempts to develop its untapped energy potential.

Tender for oil drilling targets sector’s giants | e-Kathimerini

The international tender issued by the government last week for oil drilling in 20 areas in the Ionian Sea, Western Greece and off Crete, contains terms that can only be met by very large oil companies. Environment and Energy Ministry officials confirmed that these terms result from a targeted strategy to attract oil giants, mainly dictated by the great depths of the areas to be drilled.

Greece to take 3 months to evaluate exploration bids, official says | Wolrd Oil

ATHENS, Greece (Bloomberg) -- Greece will take three months to evaluate investor offers for the right to search for oil and gas in 20 blocks in the Ionian Sea and south of Crete once the bids are submitted, an Energy Ministry official said. Greece wants to keep to strict time lines and intends to sign licensing contracts straight after completion of the evaluation process, the official said on condition of anonymity as the information hasn’t yet been made public.

The Mediterranean nation will send the invitation to investors for publication in the European Union’s Official Journal in the next few weeks, with investors expected to submit the first bids in around six months, the official said.

Greece expects to OK bids for gas and oil exploration by mid-2015 | ekathimerini.com

Greece expects to OK bids for gas and oil exploration by mid-2015 Greece is expecting to accept bids for permits to explore for hydrocarbons in the Ionian Sea and south of Crete in the middle of next year, Environment Ministry sources told the Athens-Macedonian News Agency on Monday. They said that bids regarding 20 blocks would be accepted in March and then reviewed over a three-month period. “More than 10 international petroleum companies have expressed interest in the Ionian Sea and south of Crete, which is better than we expected,” Environment Minister Yiannis Maniatis told Bloomberg last month. “We now know for sure that there are hydrocarbons in Greece and that exploring for them makes economic sense.” Maniatis was in London last week to discuss opportunities with companies that may be interested in investing in oil and gas exploration in Greece. He offered them tax breaks for their investments. Under the plan, oil and gas explorers will pay 25 percent tax, down from 40 percent currently, and 5 percent of the tax will go to local communities.

ekathimerini.com , Monday Jul 7, 2014 (14:43)

Link to source: http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite2_1_07/07/2014_541164

London event to showcase hydrocarbon blocks | Kathimerini

London event to showcase hydrocarbon blocks The seismic data collected by the Nordic Explorer, the oceanographic research vessel of Norwegian company PGS, in the Ionian Sea comprised the basis for the plans regarding exploration of the region’s hydrocarbon reserves. By Chryssa Liaggou In cooperation with the Greek Embassy in London and the ESCP Europe Business School’s Research Center for Energy Management (RCEM), the government in Athens is preparing a major showcase event in the British capital next week to present the blocks to be conceded for hydrocarbon exploration in the Ionian Sea and south of Crete. Invitations have been sent to over 500 representatives of oil companies, embassies and energy groups for the “Greece Offshore Licensing Round 2014” event on July 1 and 2, organized by Greece’s Environment and Energy Ministry with the support by the Greek Energy Forum, Natural Gas Europe and the ESCP Europe Business School. Up to a few days ago over 100 had already expressed an interest in attending, a figure which is expected to increase further by the deadline at the end of the month. At the event Energy Minister Yiannis Maniatis, along with the ministry’s team for the ambitious project headed by Sofia Stamataki, the president of Hellenic Hydrocarbon Resources Management (EDEY), will present the first concessions for survey as well as utilization in Greece since 1996. Sources have told Kathimerini that this first major round of concessions will include between 12 and 15 blocks. They are based on the interpretation of the seismic data collected by Norwegian company PGS Geo-Services. PGS has confirmed the original estimates concerning some interesting reserves in the Ionian Sea. The blocks are now ready on the map and according to the same sources have been formally recognized by a meeting on Wednesday between Maniatis and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos. Some of the officials involved in the block-defining project described the process of drawing up the final details as particularly difficult as it took 50 parameters into account, the most important being the sea depth and the environmental conditions based on a strategic study by the Center for Planning and Economic Research (KEPE). This was necessary to avoid any environmentally sensitive areas as well as to adhere to agreements with neighboring countries such as that between Greece and Italy in 1977 concerning the two countries’ territorial waters in the Ionian. A key parameter involved avoiding the creation particularly attractive blocks for concession in an effort to mix areas of high expectations with some of those seen to have a lower potential, for fear of having any remain unclaimed. Another concern in securing investment interest was whether the barrier should be placed high, by setting criteria favoring oil industry giants, or allow small or medium-sized companies to participate in the tender too. The former idea was based on the fact that the seismic data have already been purchased by France’s Total and two more major companies, while there have also been repeated expressions of interest from firms such as ConocoPhillips, Statoil, BP, Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Noble and others. According to the first idea, the tender should include a criterion on proven experience in a strong financial report. The other, however, means that if the major companies choose not to enter the process, Athens would have already have left out the smaller firms. The winning idea will become clear once the terms of the tender are published in the Official Journal of the European Union, right after the presentation in London next month.

ekathimerini.com , Monday June 23, 2014 (22:23)

Link to source: http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite2_1_23/06/2014_540789